City of Guelph

I learned yesterday of the passing of John Counsell – former Mayor of Guelph from 1986-1994. I did not know him well, yet I recall shaking his hand once in passing at some point, and I called him once to ask about the city having a skate park built because my friends dared me to “call the Mayor”. He answered the phone gladly and spoke with me at length about the issue. Judging by this nice piece written about him in the Guelph Mercury, he seemed like a great leader and wonderful man.

Today was my first day back after the weekend as I took some time to be with my kids during March break. We had a meeting this afternoon to discuss how to respond. We’re honouring the request of a donation and on behalf of the Corporation of the City of Guelph and the Mayor and Council, we are donating to the Guelph Humane Society. I will also be attending the service to celebrate his life on Friday on behalf of the city.

Our city immediately decided yesterday to put our flags at city hall at half mast as well which was a wonderful gesture.

Guelph Transit is committed to providing excellent customer service. As part of this commitment, Guelph Transit is reviewing its service to identify opportunities for improvements.

In January, we conducted two surveys where we asked you for feedback about our customer service and your travel patterns. What we heard from you is that there is an opportunity to provide better transit service to our community by making some changes to our routes and schedules. Using all of the information gathered we have designed several new routes and are proposing changes to others. So please come to one of the public information centres taking place and tell us what you think about these proposed changes. Or click here to comment online using the MindMixer tool. Help us to create a transit system that meets the needs of our community. The proposed changes are not yet approved and can still be modified. With online engagement already started and Public Information Centres scheduled on March 24 and 26, the time is now! More info: HERE Thank you, Cam

You. Yes You. Thanks for nothing. Ruining the livelihoods of hardworking folks at our Farmers Market was a class act. Lots of damage and stress to the vendors along with our city staff – Well done. I hope you can feel the sarcasm, because I’m laying it on pretty thick.

City staff and market vendors responded quickly to the situation, assisting Guelph Police Service and cleaning up the area. “Thanks to Guelph Police, City staff and market vendors, we’ll be cleaned up and ready to open the Guelph Farmers’ Market on Saturday,” says Rodney Keller, general manager, Public Works.Theft and property damage was reported. The value of the damage is unknown at this time.Guelph Police Service continues to investigate the break-in. Police are asking anyone who may have information about this crime to contact them at 519-824-1212. Anonymous tips can also be left with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Families can busy themselves all day in Downtown Guelph this March Break. There’s skating at the Market Square rink, interactive exhibits and special events at the Civic Museum, $5 movie matinees at The Bookshelf, and creativity at Play with Clay. After all that exertion, take the kids and eat for free* at one of many participating cafes, bistros, pubs and restaurants.

*Each restaurant has its own conditions attached to the offer (see below) and these include mini-pizzas at Ox, a grab bag of candies at Sweet!, and cake pops at Wellington Cakes.

Also, publish a picture of your food on Twitter with the hashtag #DigIn, mention the name of the restaurant and @downtownguelph and we’ll enter you into a draw to receive a Downtown Guelph Gift Package !

Since 2006, Dig-In has aimed to attract dedicated downtowners and suburbanites to the downtown core to experience the taste of our world-class restaurants. This promotion is no exception and gives families the opportunity to try new places with the comfort of knowing they are kid-friendly.

John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, is quoted in response to those that think that raising taxes higher is the only way to go:

“The notion that we should just resign ourselves now to the fact that the only way out of this is through big tax increases this year, next year and the year after that and the year after that, I don’t accept it,” Tory said. “I think that’s an admission of failure and I think it is an admission of defeat.”